On Friday, May 26th we celebrated with our graduating Class of 2017 at Mt. Zion Church in Oakwood Village. As our senior class sizes continue to grow, we had to move to an off-site location. This year we used the largest room in the facility. It was a festive occasion attended by faculty, staff, and families of the graduating class. Graduates were challenged by our keynote speaker, Pastor Larry Macon, Jr. He encouraged our graduates to go into the world with God’s strength and to be the absolute best they could be. He was followed by our class speakers: Clayton Waller, Jr. and Avery LaMar Pope. Clayton encouraged his classmates with a cleverly written speech that incorporated lyrics by Kendrick Lamar intertwined with an analogy of how he and his classmates have gone from caterpillars to butterflies. His words were inspirational to say the least as he admonished his classmates to leave behind the “institutionalizing” of young people and for them to trade that for the freedom of education during their college years. He also encouraged them to return home to show other “caterpillars” how to be successful. Second, but not any less inspirational, was Avery Pope whose key phrase was, “There are a lot of ways to win, but only one way to lose.” With those words he uplifted his classmates with the idea that they will only lose if they do not try. It was reminiscent of the old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try again.” Both student speakers helped to create a truly memorable evening.

We also honored those among the staff who devote so much time, leadership, and energy to helping our students every year. Coach Anthony Jones was the recipient of the LEADS award for his dedication to building an athletic program where we have athletes who are of high moral and academic character as well as tremendous athletes. The successes of our sports program happen in large part to Coach Jones dedication, leadership, and vision. Rev. Mandel Childs was the recipient of the Wegman award for his involvement not only at our school, but also for his involvement in the church community. Rev. Childs continues to be a tremendous blessing to the students at Lutheran East with his wise counsel, and he is a tremendous blessing in the community with his spiritual leadership and speaking engagements.

Well, that almost wraps up another year except for the fact that finals are not over yet! Teachers and students look forward to the end that is near on June 2nd. We wish many blessings on our recent graduates and they journey into the next step in their education.